The six swimmers who earned the honor – Peyton Baldwin, Austin Ebel, Braden Miller, Courtney Montgomery, Rumit Patel and Joey Rento – all helped lead Hampton Roads Academy to its fourth consecutive state championship in February.

In order to qualify as a National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA)/Speedo Academic All-American, a student must hold a minimum GPA of 3.75 based on a four-point scale, be a graduating senior and letter in either swimming, diving or water polo during their senior year.

“These six have done an extraordinary job of being seniors of the team, both in the classroom and of our championship team,” Hampton Roads Academy Coach Jeff Scott said. “It really emphasizes their hard work and dedication to swimming as well as their academic achievements.”

Coaches must nominate their athletes to be considered for Academic All-American honors. Hampton Roads Academy has had Academic All-Americans for three consecutive years under Scott, who is emphasizing academics to his swimmers.

With 10 combined seniors between Hampton Roads Academy’s boys and girls swim teams, Scott takes pride in having so many of his student-athletes earn the distinction.

“As a program you always like to see the kids excel in the sport,” he said. “It’s really nice to see them excel in other areas, especially academics, which is a big part of what we do at Hampton Roads Academy.”

Of the six seniors to earn the honor, Baldwin was the only swimmer to cap off her senior season with a state championship, claiming the gold medal in the 400 freestyle during the VISAA state championships.